Ocean Conservancy is a Washington, D.C.-based environmentalist advocacy group that designs ocean policies for federal and state governments. It tends to advocate for left-of-center environmentalist policies.
Though the Conservancy is broadly concerned with ocean-based conservation, including ocean acidification, coastal cleanups, and fishing, its focus has shifted towards climate change at least since 2019. 1 The organization has announced the goal to reduce global carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.
History
In 1971, marketing expert Bill Kardash attended the annual International Whaling Commission conference. There he supposedly had a chance encounter with music legend John Denver who attended to present a petition to stop whaling. Kardash later became an activist environmentalist, and the next year he founded the Delta Corporation, which would eventually become Ocean Conservancy. 2
During its early years, Ocean Conservancy was primarily focused on opposing whaling and engaged in marketing campaigns to raise public awareness. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling, and the Conservancy began to broaden its goals to general ocean wildlife protection. In the 1980s, the Conservancy launched the Marine Sanctuary Program to lobby for the establishment of coastal wildlife preserves. In 1986, the Conservancy organized the first International Coastal Cleanup,3 an international volunteer effort which has attracted a claimed 12 million volunteers to clean up 220 million pounds of waste over the last 30 years. 4
Funding
In 2019, Ocean Conservancy received nearly all its $28.7 million in revenue from donations, with 62% coming from individuals, 22% from foundations, and 14% from corporations. The organization spent $4.4 million on fundraising and membership development. 5
In 2018, Ocean Conservancy paid $174,0006 for digital fundraising to Revolution Messaging, a marketing company founded by Scott Goldstein, the external online director of Obama for America, which became the PAC Organizing for Action. 78 Revolution Messaging has worked for the campaigns of Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Beto O’Rourke (D-TX). 9
Lobbying
Ocean Conservancy engages in lobbying to support favored environmentalist policies, mostly concerning the establishment and continuity of federally protected wildlife preserves. From 2012 to 2019, lobbying spending has steadily increased from $224,000 with five lobbyists to $926,000 with fourteen lobbyists. As of July 2020, it spent $367,000 lobbying in the year. 1011
Though Ocean Conservancy does not directly contribute to political candidates, its leadership and employees tend to donate thousands of dollars each election cycle. In the 2020 cycle, $4,108 has been donated exclusively to Democratic candidates, with presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) receiving $1,324. In 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (D-NY) received $4,058. 12
Climate Change
In Ocean Conservancy’s 2019 annual report, climate change was declared the organization’s primary focus. 13 Its policy goal is to limit global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial temperatures, which requires bringing the earth to net-zero carbon-emissions output by 2050. 14 To this end, Ocean conservancy advocates making climate change the centerpiece of a “blue-green foreign policy” and for the United States to reenter the Paris Climate Agreement. 15
Opposition to the Trump Administration
Lawsuit
In January 2018, Ocean Conservancy and Earthjustice announced they were suing the federal government over an alleged violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 16
In June 2017, the Department of Commerce added 39 additional days to the legal fishing period for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Ocean Conservancy filed a FOIA to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding records pertaining to the fishing extension. After NOAA failed to reply in the mandated 20-day window for FOIA requests, the lawsuit was filed. 17
In December 2017, the federal district court of the District of Columbia ordered the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and the National Marine Fisheries Service to halt the fishing extension. Additionally, the district judge retained jurisdiction over the red snapper fishing season in 2018. 18
National Environmental Policy Act
In July 2020, the Conservancy criticized the Trump administration for rolling back enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to consider environmental impacts on all activity. 19
New England Marine National Monument
In June 2020, the Conservancy criticized the Trump administration for permitting commercial fishing in 4,913 square miles of water constituting the Northeastern Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of New England. In its proclamation, the administration argued that the region could sustain manageable fishing levels without a noticeable environmental impact. 20 In response, Conservancy CEO Janis Searles Jones accused the administration of exploiting Black Lives Matter demonstrations and COVID-19 to prevent scrutiny. 21
National Ocean Policy
In June 2019, the Conservancy criticized the Trump administration for rescinding the National Ocean Policy, a set of guidelines established by the Obama administration in 2010 to prioritize the preservation of ocean wildlife in federal policy. President Donald Trump altered the policy’s language to prioritize the “economic, security, and environmental interest of the U.S.” 22
Criticism
“Stemming the Tide” report
In September 2015, Ocean Conservancy released the “Stemming the Tide” report along with the World Wildlife Fund, US State Department and others to outline strategies to clean up plastic waste in the oceans. A month later, an open letter signed by over 200 nonprofits, government agencies, and scientists criticized Ocean Conservancy’s report, arguing that its proposed waste management policies were outdated. Specifically, the letter condemned an overreliance on burning waste, a focus on promoting Western-based multinational companies at the expense of Asian countries, and an acceptance of rising plastic levels in the oceans. 23
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
In July 2012, a group of environmentalist nonprofits, including Ocean Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Oxfam, the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Audubon Society, and the National Wildlife Federation issued a report laying out a plan for how BP should pay for the damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The report recommended a $500 million restoration of the Louisiana coast, a $165 million restoration of Mobile Bay, and the purchase of large tracts of coastal land in Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida for indefinite conservation, among other initiatives. 24
In response, a representative of then-Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) said, “the environmentalists’ report is so out of touch that I put my copy in the recycling bin.” He accused the organizations of using the crisis as an opportunity to fund “pet projects” and fulfill political agendas. Louisiana State University law professor Edward P. Richards also criticized the plan for spending money on regions which saw little impact from the spill. 25
Sandra Whitehouse Consulting Contract
Since September 2008, according to her LinkedIn account and records from federal nonprofit tax filings, Sandra Thornton Whitehouse, the wife of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, has received contracting work totaling $3.1 million from two environmental nonprofits.
Tax documents for September 2008 through June 2022 from the Ocean Conservancy show that for every year since the reporting period ending June 2010 Sandra Whitehouse (or her consulting firm, Ocean Wonks LLC) was one of the nonprofit’s five highest paid consultants. Total payments during that period equaled $2,628,654. (Whithouse’s LinkedIn account shows she became a senior policy advisor for the group in September 2008, but tax records do not list her as one of the five highest paid consultants for the year ending September 2009. She may have been paid money during that year that is in addition to the previously mentioned $2.6 million but fell outside the publicly-reportable “top five highest paid” consultants.) 26 27
In May 2023, the Daily Caller reported that while his wife was working for the Ocean Conservancy, Sen. Whitehouse had “blogged for Ocean Conservancy, spoke at an event it co-hosted, and sat on a panel an organization director moderated.” 28
Additionally, according to the Daily Caller, Whitehouse introduced “at least two dozen bills” relating to ocean research and left leaning ocean causes. These included a 2021 bill to “improve data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts,” a 2019 proposal to “prohibit oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf,” and the Ocean Conservancy-endorsed Save Our Seas Act 2.0 in 2020. 29
In 2020, one of the Ocean Conservancy’s executives publicly thanked Whitehouse in a blog post for his “continued leadership” regarding the Save Our Seas measure. 30
In addition to the Ocean Conservancy contract, Sandra Whitehouse was also one of the top-five highest paid contractors to AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles from July 2015 to July 2018. Tax records for the environmental nonprofit show a cumulative total of $489,704 paid by AltaSea to Sandra Whitehouse during the period. 31 32
Sheldon Whitehouse became a U.S. Senator in January 2007. Sandra Whitehouse received her PhD in marine biology in 1994. As of May 2023, her LinkedIn account does not list employment prior to 2008. 33
A speaker program for a May 2012 symposium states she had been an “environmental consultant” for the prior 15 years (i.e.: back to 2007), with “clients” including the Rhode Island General Assembly. As late as March 2004, an individual named “Sandra Whitehouse” appeared to be employed as a member of the policy staff of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. She and two other individuals represented the policy office in “House Policy Staff Briefings” before the Rhode Island House Committee on Separation of Powers. 34 35 36
References
- “2019 Annual Report.” Ocean Conservancy. Spring 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/about/financials/.
- “History.” Ocean Conservancy. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/about/history/.
- “History.” Ocean Conservancy. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/about/history/.
- Parker, Thomas. “World Oceans Day: Profiling five ocean clean-up organizations.” NS Packaging. June 8, 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.nspackaging.com/analysis/world-oceans-day-ocean-clean-up/,
- “2019 Annual Report.” Ocean Conservancy. Spring 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/about/financials/.
- Ocean Conservancy Form 990.” Propublica. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/237245152/05_2019_prefixes_23-23%2F237245152_201806_990_2019051316294626.
- “Scott Goldstein.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottgoodstein/.
- Steinhauser, Paul. “’Obama for America’ to morph into ‘Organizing for Action.’” Political Ticker. January 18, 2013. Accessed July 27, 2020. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/18/obama-for-america-to-morph-into-organizing-for-action/.
- Cramer, Ruby. “Two Years Ago, Revolution Messaging Helped Bernie Raise Millions. Now They’re In Crisis.” BuzzFeed News. July 7, 2018. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/revolution-messaging.
- “Lobbying.” Open Secrets. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/lobbying?id=D000064969.
- “Client Profile: Ocean Conservancy.” Open Secrets. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2019&id=D000064969.
- “Candidates.” Open Secrets. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recipients?toprecipscycle=2016&candscycle=2014&id=D000064969.
- “2019 Annual Report.” Ocean Conservancy. Spring 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/about/financials/.
- “Confronting Climate Change.” Ocean Conservancy. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/climate/.
- “Elements of a Blue-Green Foreign Policy.” Ocean Conservancy. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/climate/publications/elements-blue-green-foreign-policy/.
- “Statement: Ocean Conservancy Sues the Trump Administration over Violation of the Freedom of Information Act.” Ocean Conservancy. January 23, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/news/statement-ocean-conservancy-sues-trump-administration-violation-freedom-information-act/.
- “Statement: Ocean Conservancy Sues the Trump Administration over Violation of the Freedom of Information Act.” Ocean Conservancy. January 23, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/news/statement-ocean-conservancy-sues-trump-administration-violation-freedom-information-act/.
- “Statement: Ocean Conservancy Sues the Trump Administration over Violation of the Freedom of Information Act.” Ocean Conservancy. January 23, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/news/statement-ocean-conservancy-sues-trump-administration-violation-freedom-information-act/.
- Fredrickson, Ivy N. “Trump Administration Takes Major Step to Weaken Our Environment.” Ocean Conservancy. July 20, 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2020/07/20/trump-administration-takes-major-step-weaken-environment/.
- “Proclamation on Modifying The Northeast Canyons And Seamounts Marine National Monument. Whitehouse.gov. June 5, 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-modifying-northeast-canyons-seamounts-marine-national-monument/.
- “Statement: Trump Proclamation to Strip Protections from New England Marine National Monument.” Ocean Conservancy. June 5, 2020. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/news/ocean-conservancy-statement-trump-proclamation-strip-protections-new-england-marine-national-monument/.
- Trice, Amy. “President Trump rescinds the National Ocean Policy.” Ocean Conservancy. June 19, 2018. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2018/06/19/president-trump-rescinds-national-ocean-policy/.
- “Open Letter and Technical Critique to Ocean Conservancy regarding ‘Stemming the Tide’ Report.” Gaia. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.no-burn.org/open-letter-to-ocean-conservancy-regarding-deep-concerns-about-the-stemming-the-tide-report/.
- “Coalition offers vision for Gulf of Mexico restoration.” Texarckana Gazette. July 17, 2012. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/national/story/2012/jul/18/coalitioffers-visigulf-mexico-restoration/277340/.
- “Coalition offers vision for Gulf of Mexico restoration.” Texarkana Gazette. July 17, 2012. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/national/story/2012/jul/18/coalitioffers-visigulf-mexico-restoration/277340/.
- Ocean Conservancy, Inc. EIN: 23-7245152. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. IRS Form 990 returns since 2001. Payments to five highest paid consultants. Accessed July 15, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237245152
- “Sandra Whitehouse: President at Ocean Wonks LLC and Founding Member at Ocean Collectiv.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-whitehouse-54099217
- RICHARDSON, KATELYNN. “Dem Senator Who Attacked Conservative Justices’ Wife’s Activism Pushed Legislation Related To His Own Wife’s Work.” Daily Caller. May 1, 2023. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/05/01/sheldon-whitehouse-wife-ocean-consulting-conflict-interest-supreme-court-spouses-ethics-judiciary-dems/
- RICHARDSON, KATELYNN. “Dem Senator Who Attacked Conservative Justices’ Wife’s Activism Pushed Legislation Related To His Own Wife’s Work.” Daily Caller. May 1, 2023. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/05/01/sheldon-whitehouse-wife-ocean-consulting-conflict-interest-supreme-court-spouses-ethics-judiciary-dems/
- RICHARDSON, KATELYNN. “Dem Senator Who Attacked Conservative Justices’ Wife’s Activism Pushed Legislation Related To His Own Wife’s Work.” Daily Caller. May 1, 2023. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/05/01/sheldon-whitehouse-wife-ocean-consulting-conflict-interest-supreme-court-spouses-ethics-judiciary-dems/
- ALTASEA AT THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES. EIN: 46-3977904. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. IRS Form 990 returns since 2001. Payments to five highest paid consultants. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463977904
- “Sandra Whitehouse: President at Ocean Wonks LLC and Founding Member at Ocean Collectiv.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-whitehouse-54099217
- “Sandra Whitehouse: President at Ocean Wonks LLC and Founding Member at Ocean Collectiv.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-whitehouse-54099217
- “Sandra Whitehouse: President at Ocean Wonks LLC and Founding Member at Ocean Collectiv.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-whitehouse-54099217
- “International Marine Spatial Planning Symposium: Sharing Practical Solutions.” Participant Biographies. Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Symposium. Providence-Newport, Rhode Island. May 2012. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/oceansamp/2012_marineplanning/Practitioner_Biographies.pdf
- Ciminero, Gary; Michael Civittolo and Sandra Whitehouse. “Initial Hearing on Separation of Powers and Legislative Oversight—House Policy Staff Briefings.” Rhode Island House Policy Office before the Rhode Island House Committee on Separation of Powers. Rhode Island House of Representatives. March 10, 2004. Accessed May 15, 2023. https://slideplayer.com/slide/7070092/